Saturday, September 16, 2006

Duane Tron: Small potatoes

John Curry to Duane Tron, Sept. 16, 2006
Subject: Re: New STRS appointment political?
Duane,
I do realize that these donations were "small potatoes," but nonetheless, we educators need to know this information. I hope (and pray) he does work out and will also be a watchdog of our monies and 3307.15. I would have preferred Tom Hall (so would a lot of others), but we'll have to work with what we've got. I will give him a chance. Like I said in my letter below, "We shall soon see." Thanks for your input.
John
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Duane Tron to John Curry, September 16, 2006
Subject: Re: New STRS appointment political?

John,
I don't want to burst anybody's bubble but these contributions are small potatoes in the world of campaign finance and are actually insignificant. It looks and sounds like a lot of money to you and me but in the world of campaign finance this is nothing and is viewed as such by fundraisers. Sorry! This doesn't even raise a flag here! I know people who give $100 to $500 to different political pundits right here in our small community and do so with regularity.
What I look at are those who donate thousands of dollars to campaigns of many different persons within a political party and do so with regularity! Kind of like David Brennan, White Hat Management, donating over $12,000.00 to Jim Jordan's campaigns in recent years! When people make big donations they expect something in return. When they make small contributions like these they usually do so because they like the candidate and not because they expect anything in return.
I am friends with a number of people who work in campaign finance, and fundraising, and they would laugh at this! If you asked them if this is significant they would tell you, "NO!" This guy is what they consider a small contributor! In the past I actually used to make donations of this size to some office holders.
Campaign finance is a cutthroat business and they are forced to try and find money anywhere they can because campaigns are so expensive to operate. This is precisely why McCain and Feingold were pushing for a reform of the entire system. The current system prevents a lot of "good" people from running for public office, people who would do a great job and make a difference. The system is broken!
I don't read anything into this particular scenario! No red flags so to speak.
Larry KehresMount Union Collge
Division III
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